Sorry, I’m just now seeing your email! (You sent it 15 minutes ago.)

Sorry that you completely misinterpreted that thing I said.

Sorry you just rammed into me with your grocery-store cart.

The apology is running amok in conversations and communications. We drop it indiscriminately, crying mea culpa for all manner of things we really shouldn't be sorry for—and diluting the apologies that truly matter. Is it time to stop? Could we even cut back if we wanted to?

"I wasn't really that sorry," admits Louise Julig, a freelance writer in Encinitas, Calif., who found she was constantly apologizing for the "delay" when replying to notes, even when there wasn't much of a delay at all. "Why am I saying this thing? I don't know."

"Sorry" has lost its meaning, she realized, no longer a heartfelt declaration of remorse but a knee-jerk response. Now, faced with the blinking cursor of a blank email, Ms. Julig asks herself, did I legitimately miss something, or mess someone else up? If the answer is no, she's not sorry.

"Don't give away your power," counsels Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of a book about commanding authority at work. Apologizing in business, especially when you've actually done something wrong, is just asking for trouble, he says.

People are never satisfied with an apology, he adds. Groveling and exhibiting vulnerability only make you look weak and sink team morale.

Standing your ground comes with risks, he allows. You'll piss some people off. You might not be liked. He thinks it's worth it.

"You can either conform to what people want you to be, or you can decide that you are going to risk offending people," he says. "Life is about trade-offs."

When I searched my sent emails for the phrase, "Sorry for the delay," the result was too many hits for Gmail to give me an exact count.

I tried, in the course of reporting this column, to cut back on my apologies. Mostly I failed, catching myself exclaiming sorry! when dialing in three minutes late for a call. A person I contacted for this piece apologized for only being available one of the days I suggested we chat, not the other. I flashed back to a clip of Taylor Swift, in which she apologizes for "getting on her soapbox" about misogyny, then quickly catches herself.

"We're, like, 'Sorry, was I loud?'" the pop star says in "Miss Americana," the Netflix documentary. "In my own house that I bought. With the songs that I wrote. About my own life."

Words have consequences.

"Always feeling like you need to say 'sorry' makes you kind of feel like crap," says Jen Fisher, the chief well-being officer for Deloitte. Last year, she logged her own apologies, flagging the ones that felt unnecessary and replacing them with expressions of gratitude.

Have to move a meeting? Try, "I appreciate your flexibility," or "I'm grateful for your understanding," she says. Remember that it's not your responsibility to apologize for things out of your control, such as the weather or a client moving a deadline. Putting "sorry" on loop waters down the moments when you really do need to show remorse, she adds.

And of course, people often wield "sorry" to mean exactly the opposite, more a passive-aggressive insult than real contrition.

Shedding "sorry" can be empowering. Hannah Szabo grew up in Wisconsin, where—as in much of the Midwest, Canada and other regions—"sorry" sometimes serves as a conversation starter. She would drop one in during a pause in conversation, or when she felt uncomfortable.

Then she moved to Brazil. She was shocked to find that the students she was teaching barely apologized. At first, she was offended. Now, she basks in a culture without reflexive apologies.

Back in the Midwest on a recent trip, she almost grew angry when her mother apologized for accidentally sticking her seat belt in the wrong buckle.

"That does not qualify for a sorry, Mom," she told her. "Take that back."  

Women apologize more than men, but a female co-worker's apology doesn't necessarily mean she's claiming blame, says Deborah Tannen, a linguistics professor at Georgetown University. She might just be trying to get her work done with a dose of graciousness, for example smoothing over a misunderstanding with, "Sorry, what I meant was…"

"Everything we're doing is on some level trying to show we're a good person at the same time that we're trying to accomplish something," Dr. Tannen says.

When I message "So sorry to bug you…" to my boss before asking a question that's a necessary part of both our jobs, I'm showing respect for power differentials at the office, Dr. Tannen notes.

Still, some misinterpret women's apologies as incompetence. When British leader Liz Truss last week apologized "for the mistakes" in pushing a risky tax plan, it was met with calls to resign. A few days later, she did. Be aware of how others respond when you use words of contrition, Dr. Tannen cautions. If colleagues call out your apologizing, you might explain that you were just saying you were sorry a thing happened, and not sorry sorry. If you hear that feedback often, consider an audit like Ms. Fisher's.

Kingston Vickers tried. After moving to Texas years ago, the native Canadian resolved to remove the "ehs" and "sorrys" from his vocabulary. Doing so consumed so much mental effort that he grew flustered when talking and wasn't as effective at his sales job.

Now he embraces his proclivity for apologies, and says his work has benefited. Apologizing for his clients' struggles or when he's about to make an ask of them, builds trust, he says. It's also a way of showing empathy.

"People underestimate the power of a kind word nowadays," he adds.

1.What is the main idea of the article?

A The use of the word "sorry" has become overused and is losing its meaning.

B People should apologize more often to improve team morale and show empathy.

C Women apologize more than men, which can be misinterpreted as incompetence.

D Apologizing is necessary to maintain power differentials in the workplace.

解析：选A。A 通读全文可知，本文讨论了人们如何在谈话和交流中过度使用“对不起”一词，这削弱了它的真正含义。这篇文章还从不同的角度阐述了人们应该少道歉还是多道歉，以及在不同的情况下道歉是如何被误解的。故选A。

2.According to Jeffrey Pfeffer, what is the risk of apologizing in business?

A It can make you look weak and damage team morale.

B It can lead to a lack of respect from colleagues.

C It can cause you to lose power and conform to others' expectations.

D It can create unnecessary conflict and tension in the workplace.

解析：选A。A 由文章可知：斯坦福大学商学院组织行为学教授Jeffrey Pfeffer认为，在商业中道歉会让你看起来很软弱，并降低团队士气。他认为人们永远不会满足于道歉，卑躬屈膝和表现出脆弱只会让你看起来软弱。故选A。

3.Why did Louise Julig start questioning her use of "sorry"?

A She felt that apologizing was necessary to show respect to others.

B She realized that she was apologizing too much for the delay in her replies.

C She wanted to avoid offending people and conform to their expectations.

D She discovered that apologizing can be misinterpreted as a sign of weakness.

解析：选B。B 由文章可知：Louise Julig是加利福尼亚州恩西尼塔斯的一名自由撰稿人，当她发现自己在回复笔记时不断为“延迟”道歉时，甚至在根本没有太多延迟的情况下，她也开始质疑自己使用“对不起”。她意识到“对不起”已经失去了意义，不再是发自内心的悔恨，而是下意识的回应。故选B。

4.What does Jen Fisher suggest as an alternative to apologizing for things out of your control?

A Ignore the situation and move on.

B Blame someone or something else for the situation.

C Express gratitude and appreciation instead.

D Use humor to diffuse the tension.

解析：选C。C 由文章可知：德勤首席福利官Jen Fisher建议，人们应该用表达感激之情来代替不必要的道歉，比如“我很感激你的灵活性”或“我很感谢你的理解”。她还建议人们记住，为自己无法控制的事情道歉不是他们的责任，比如天气或客户推迟了截止日期。故选C。

5.Why does Kingston Vickers embrace his proclivity for apologies?

A He thinks that people underestimate the power of a kind word.

B He believes that apologizing is necessary to maintain power differentials in the workplace.

C It helps him build trust with his clients and show empathy.

D It makes him feel more comfortable and confident in his conversations.

解析：选C。C 由文章可知：金斯顿·维克斯接受了他道歉的倾向，因为他相信这有助于他与客户建立信任，并表现出同理心。他为客户的挣扎或即将向他们提出要求时道歉。故选C。